ZionCoin MarketCap Cryptocurrency Listing

Crypto's chief political action committee has put money on its picks for the Florida congressional seats vacated by one of President-elect Donald Trump's closest allies, Matt Gaetz, and the politician Trump tapped as a national security advisor, Michael Waltz.With an extremely tight majority in the House of Representatives, the replacement of the two Florida Republicans is paramount to the party's political agenda in Congress. Crypto super PAC Fairshake — through its affiliate PAC, Defend American Jobs — has begun spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on pro-crypto names in the special elections set to fill the seats.Gaetz was briefly President-elect Donald Trump's pick for U.S. attorney general — the nation's highest law enforcement official — but he resigned from consideration and from Congress as pressures mounted from a House ethics investigation into his alleged payments for drugs and sex (including a report of sexual activity with a 17-year-old).Trump turned to embrace the state's chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis, as his favored candidate to fill the resulting opening in the House of Representatives. Patronis, who is outpacing a crowded field of Republican rivals in the January 28 primary, is benefiting from about $200,000 in ad spending from Fairshake, the group said.In October, Patronis pushed for putting some state pension money into crypto investments.The PAC also committed about $500,000 to get state Senator Randy Fine to fill Representative Waltz's vacancy. Trump also backed Fine in an endorsement that reportedly scattered a number of potential competitors.The candidate posted on social media site X this week that "Floridians want crypto innovation!"Super PACs can buy ads for or against candidates, as long as they're "independent expenditures" not approved or coordinated by the candidates. Fairshake spent $139 million to help get 53 allies into the new session of Congress, so one in ten of the sitting lawmakers benefited from crypto-funded ads."We are keeping our foot on the gas," Fairshake spokesman Josh Vlasto said on Friday.The PAC still has a towering $103 million in funds at its disposal for the next congressional election cycle, putting it far ahead for the 2026 races.Read More: Crypto Cash Fueled 53 Members of the Next U.S. Congress... Read more

As federal agencies prepare for new executive leadership, an obscure ethics rule threatens to hamstring the incoming Trump administration's ability to develop sound digital asset policy. Legal Advisory 22-04, issued by the Office of Government Ethics in 2022, has flown largely under the radar as part of the Biden administration's restrictive approach to crypto. Yet its impact could be profound: it effectively bars anyone holding cryptocurrencies, tokens, or stablecoins from federal service.For an incoming administration that promised to restore American competitiveness in financial innovation, this presents an immediate challenge. Key agencies like Treasury, SEC, CFTC, and the Federal Reserve will need officials who understand both traditional finance and digital assets. But the current ethics guidance forces potential appointees and civil servants to make an impossible choice: divest entirely from the sector or stay out of public service.The irony is striking. A Treasury official can hold investments in JP Morgan while working on banking policy, but they can't hold any amount of bitcoin while working on digital asset regulation. A SEC lawyer can own mutual funds while reviewing securities cases, but they can't hold even $100 in stablecoins. This creates an artificial barrier to recruiting experts precisely when their expertise is most needed.As Senior Director of Industry Affairs at the Blockchain Association, I work with more than 100 member companies at the forefront of financial innovation. Many of our members include professionals with deep government experience who could contribute valuable insights to federal service. Yet under current rules, their expertise remains off-limits unless they're willing to completely divest from the industry they know best.There's a straightforward solution: The Office of Government Ethics should modify its guidance to allow de minimis holdings of digital assets, similar to existing rules for traditional financial instruments. This would maintain ethical standards while opening the door to badly needed expertise. Alternatively, the incoming administration could simply rescind the advisory via executive order - a quick win that would signal a more balanced approach to crypto policy.The stakes are high. As countries like Singapore, Switzerland, and the UAE race to establish clear regulatory frameworks for digital assets, the U.S. government needs officials who understand both the opportunities and risks. Maintaining an overly broad ethics rule doesn't just handicap agencies - it undermines America's ability to lead in financial innovation.For an incoming administration focused on effective governance and American leadership in technology, addressing this barrier should be an early, easy-to-achieve priority. The alternative is watching crucial positions go unfilled or, worse, filled by those with limited understanding of one of the most transformative technologies of our time.... Read more

Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Soichoro “Michael” Moro, the former CEO of its now-defunct Genesis subsidiary, have agreed to pay a combined $38.5 million in civil penalties to settle securities fraud charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).The crypto venture capital firm will bear the brunt of the financial penalty, paying $30 million in fines, while Moro will personally be liable for a $500,000 penalty. In addition to the fines, both DCG and Moro agreed to a cease-and-desist order. Neither DCG nor Moro admitted to any wrongdoing. Moro is currently the chief strategy officer at INX.The charges stem from DCG and Genesis’ response to the collapse of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) – Genesis’ second-largest borrower – in the summer of 2022, which blew a billion-dollar hole in Genesis’ balance sheet.“We are pleased to have concluded an extensive investigation process that was limited in its findings and focused on the social media posts and communications made by our former operating subsidiary, Genesis Global Capital,” a spokesperson for DCG told CoinDesk. “DCG has always strived to conduct its business with the highest integrity, and we believe our actions related to Genesis were consistent with that approach.”Regulators, including the New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James, had accused DGC and Genesis, its wholly-owned crypto trading subsidiary, of working together to cover up the enormous hole by falsely claiming that DCG had absorbed Genesis’ losses. What DCG had allegedly done was issue Genesis a promissory note – essentially an IOU meant to create the appearance of liquidity – pledging to pay Genesis $1.1 billion over the course of 10 years at 1% interest. DCG has denied that the promissory note was a sham.“It is vital that companies and their officers speak truthfully to the investing public, especially in times of financial instability or turmoil. The Commission found that DCG and Moro fell short in that regard,” said Sanjay Wadhwa, Acting Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, in a Friday statement. “Rather than being transparent about Genesis’s financial condition and DCG’s efforts to ensure Genesis’s continued operation, DCG and Moro painted a misleadingly rosy picture.”The SEC and the Department of Justice reportedly began investigating DCG in 2023. James’ civil case against DCG is ongoing. She is seeking $3 billion in penalties.... Read more

Bitcoin (BTC) hit its strongest price in U.S. dollar terms in 2025 on Friday and notched a new record against the British pound as excitement for a new era of crypto-friendly U.S. government mounts ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration next week.BTC topped $105,000 during the U.S. session, surging 5.2% over the past 24 hours and leading the broad-market crypto benchmark CoinDesk 20 Index higher. Of the CoinDesk 20 constituents, only NEAR, and Litecoin's LTC kept pace with bitcoin's gains, while solana (SOL) and Ethereum's ether (ETH) lagged with 3% advances. XRP posted a 4% decline, retreating from its record highs after a massive market-leading rally earlier this week.Crypto-related stocks are also moving higher. MicroStrategy (MSTR), the largest corporate BTC holder, was up 7% during the day, while exchange giant Coinbase (COIN) advanced 4.5%. MARA Holdings led gains among major bitcoin miners, up 13%.It's quite the turnaround from earlier in the week, when a broad-market sell-off had bitcoin plunging below $90,0000, with fear mounting of a deeper pullback. BTC since, though, has bounced 17% first as investor anxiety over Wednesday's U.S. CPI inflation report passed and then as focus turned to speculation about Donald Trump's potential crypto actions following his inauguration on Jan. 20.Overcoming last week's local high of $102,000, BTC also broke out of its multi-week downtrend of lower highs to target its December record price, said Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy."Now $108,000 is near term target resistance," he said in an X post. "Lots of reasons to be bullish."Strong bitcoin ETF flowsSpot bitcoin ETFs combined saw $1.381 billion net inflows in the past two days, reversing the four-day streak of outflows, per Farside Investors data. Ether spot ETFs attracted $166 million in inflows, their strongest day in more than a month.With markets closed on Monday, today is the last trading session on traditional markets before Trump's inauguration.BlackRock's Ishares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) booked almost $1 billion trading volume in little over the first hour of the session, posting the fourth-largest volume among all U.S. ETFs and surpassing Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF (VOO) with almost ten times of assets under management, per Barchart data.All eyes on TrumpThe most important upcoming catalyst will be Trump's inauguration ceremony on Monday, and crypto investors expect a sea change from the new president. Trump promised on the campaign trail to position the U.S. as a leader in the crypto space including creating a national stockpile of bitcoin, in stark contrast to past years' regulatory crackdowns and enforcements.Bloomberg reported Thursday that Trump plans an executive order to elevate digital assets to a "national priority" and create an advisory council of industry members for policy recommendations.Odds of the U.S. establishing a bitcoin reserve rose sharply over the past days, with Polymarket traders putting a 38% probability on Trump making it happen during the first 100 days of his presidency.“As we close out the final week of the Biden presidency, the technical picture remains very constructive for BTC," John Glover, chief investment officer at crypto lender Ledn, said in an emailed note."The only thing that could cause a large corrective move lower is if Trump fails to act on his plans to loosen regulatory policy around digital assets and to start building up BTC treasury holdings," he added. "Recent headlines indicate that he is serious in making this a priority in his first 100 days,”Glover's analysis using wave theory projects bitcoin to hit $128,000 in the coming months following its interim 5 wave pattern, completing its larger wave 3 in its uptrend. According to wave theory, market trends unfold in five waves, three of which represent the primary trend and the others constitute retracements.Breaking above the record high of $108,000 is key, Glover said, and there remains a slim possibility of revisiting the recent lows at $90,000. This scenario, however, is becoming increasingly unlikely, he added.... Read more

Ethereum's developers have finally delivered a timeline for the chain's next big upgrade, Pectra, which promises to introduce an array of speed and efficiency improvements to the second-largest blockchain. At a developer meeting held virtually on Thursday, Ethereum's core team set the upgrade's target release date for March 2025.Pectra combines together eight major upgrades, or "Ethereum improvement proposals" (EIPs), into one package.Among the most anticipated upgrades is EIP-7702, aimed at improving the user-experience of wallets. The upgrade, which was reportedly sketched out by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in a mere 22 minutes, enables user wallets to be programmed like smart contracts. It's part of a broader strategy to bring account abstraction to Ethereum — a series of features that make setting up and using wallets a lot less clunky.Another highly-anticipated upgrade, EIP-7251, increases the maximum amount validators can stake from 32 to 2,048 ETH. The change addresses a massive nuisance faced by the validators who stake ETH to keep the chain running today: Those who want to invest more than 32 ETH with the network must split their stake between dozens — or sometimes, hundreds — of separate nodes. This isn't just burdensome. It has also resulted in weeks-long lines for setting up new nodes. Pectra was originally on track to be Ethereum’s biggest hard fork to date, and it's the first major improvement to the chain since 2024's Dencun upgrade. A blockchain hard fork is a particularly major kind of software upgrade that, in essence, moves a network over to an entirely new chain.While still significant, the upgrades included in Pectra are stripped-down from some earlier plans. Developers decided in September that earlier plans for Pectra were too ambitious, and they agreed to split the original package into two.Developers plan to test Pectra on Ethereum's Sepolia and Holesky test networks throughout February. If all goes well, developers will proceed to bring Pectra to mainnet in early or mid-March.Read more: Ethereum Developers Confirm Plan to Split 'Pectra' Upgrade In Two... Read more

CoinDesk’s coverage kicked into high gear this week as crypto readied for a new presidency and a new regulatorily-friendly era.Some highlights:Senior analyst James Van Straten reported on a wave of companies buying bitcoin for their balance sheets, following a model pioneered by MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor.Markets reporter Krisztian Sandor followed the rise of Solana's SOL, XRP and Hedera's HBAR on rumors that Trump might support an America-first crypto “reserve” to complement a national bitcoin holding.Markets Co-Managing Editor Omkar Godbole delved into why bitcoin continues to be in a trough price-wise. But he said the recent selloff won’t hurt long-term institutional adoption.Ian Allison, senior reporter, caught up with new Binance.US chief Norman Reed, who revealed how SEC officials had tried to choke off the exchange’s banking relationships as part of its 2022 investigation.Asia reporter Sam Reynolds looked into how regulators in several countries had recently tried to ban Polymarket as prediction markets contend with gambling laws. (Kalshi, however, gained Donald Trump Jnr. as an advisor, showing how the U.S. may now become a safe haven for crypto companies.)In a preview of what is expected to be a vibrant time for M&A activity, Ctrl Wallet, a self-custody wallet, revealed that it is up for sale, Allison reported.Meanwhile, crypto ETFs are expected to surge in volume, following 2024’s seismic debut. Litecoin, an early bitcoin clone, is the next project expected to get official approval for ETF trading, reporter Tom Carreras said.Helene Braun followed up to say that a Litecoin ETF could attract $580 million in inflows, if the vehicle proves as attractive as bitcoin was last year.On the regulatory front, Deputy Managing Editor Jesse Hamilton reported the Trump administration wants to make crypto’s “de-banking” issues a first order of concern.Meanwhile, the SEC and CFTC continued to clear-house of “anti-crypto” officials, preparing the way for new administrators to join in the coming weeks, Hamilton said.As the weekend approaches, the crypto world was set to descend on Washington D.C. for a series of inauguration parties and balls.CoinDesk will have full live coverage on Monday, so stay tuned. ... Read more

Crypto exchange Crypto.com has received in-principle approval for a European Union (EU) Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license from Malta's Financial Services Authority, edging it closer to be able to operate fully across the trading bloc.The in-principle license means that the exchange is expected to receive its full CASP license soon, a Crypto.com spokesperson said on Friday. Companies have been working towards getting a crypto asset service provider (CASP) license under MiCA since the bespoke crypto legislation passed in 2023. The CASP license allows companies to serve clients across the European trading bloc which consists of 27 nations. "Receiving full regulatory approval will allow Crypto.com to provide its market-leading range of crypto services across the EU under a streamlined and robust framework bringing a significantly improved degree of transparency to the sector," the company said in an emailed statement. Crypto.com will soon join the likes of Boerse Stuttgart Digital, MoonPay, BitStaete, ZBD and prime brokerage and clearing company Hidden Road, who received the MiCA license.... Read more

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 3949.35, up 1.1% (+41.73) since 4 p.m. ET on Thursday.Sixteen of 20 assets are trading higher.Leaders: NEAR (+6.3%) and LTC (+5.9%).Laggards: XLM (-3.4%) and HBAR (-3.3%).The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.... Read more

Crypto will become more deeply integrated into traditional finance (TradFi) through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and corporate holdings this year, according to crypto-trading firm Wintermute.In addition, a large corporate event such as an acquisition or merger will be settled in stablecoins, the market maker and liquidity provider said in an annual review and outlook.Among its other forecasts:The U.S. will begin consultations to create a strategic bitcoin reserve, with China, the UAE and Europe following suit.A publicly listed company will sell debt or shares to buy ether (ETH), mimicking MicroStrategy's (MSTR) bitcoin acquisition policy.A systemically important bank will offer spot cryptocurrency trading to clients.The predictions follow substantial demand growth last year, which saw over-the-counter (OTC) trading institutional trading volumes more than triple following the approval last January of bitcoin (BTC) ETFs and later arrival of ether (ETH) ETFs. The report attributed the interest to improved regulatory clarity and demand for capital-efficient trading. The average OTC trade size increased 17% and total volume 313%, it said. Derivatives volumes grew by over 300%, driven by institutions searching for more sophisticated yield and risk management instruments. In spot trading, Wintermute noted a record-breaking single-day OTC volume of $2.24 billion, surpassing 2023's weekly record of $2 billion.Shift in Asset PreferencesMemecoins were one of the success stories in 2024, seeing their market share more than double to 16%. This was primarily driven in the Solana ecosystem by tokens such as dogwifhat (WIF), bonk (BONK) and ponke (PONKE), though ether continues to dominate."We saw record-breaking growth driven by demand for sophisticated products like CFDs and options, reflecting a maturing market that increasingly mirrors traditional finance," CEO Evgeny Gaevoy said in the report. "We anticipate even greater momentum as crypto integrates deeper into global financial infrastructure through ETFs, corporate holdings, tokenization, and the rise of structured products."... Read more

Crypto venture capital (VC) activity remains below the levels seen in previous bull markets despite the recent rally in digital assets, Galaxy Digital (GLXY) said in research report on Wednesday.Total capital allocated to VC funds in 2024 was $11.5 billion, less than in 2023.Galaxy noted that VC activity was highly correlated to crypto asset prices in previous bull runs in 2017 and 2021, "but for the last two years activity has remained depressed while cryptos have rallied."Stagnation in the venture capital market is due to a number of reasons. These include a "barbell market" where bitcoin (BTC) and its new spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have taken centre stage, with "marginal net new activity" from memecoins, Galaxy said. These memecoins are hard to fund and have "questionable longevity."There is growing enthusiasm for new projects at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto, the report said, and forthcoming regulatory changes may result in more opportunities in stablecoins, decentralized finance (DeFi) and tokenization.Some large investors may be gaining exposure to crypto via spot bitcoin ETFs "rather than turning to early-stage VC investing," the report noted.The U.S. was responsible for the most deals completed in Q4 and the most capital invested, Galaxy said. Early-stage deals accounted for 60% of total investment in the fourth quarter, and stablecoin companies raised the most money, Galaxy added.Venture capitalists put $11.5 billion in total into crypto and blockchain focused startups in 2024. These funds invested $3.5 billion, a 46% rise quarter-on-quarter, across 416 deals in Q4, the report added.Read more: Crypto VC Market 'Tepid' as Q3 Investments Declined 20%, Says Galaxy Digital... Read more

Boerse Stuttgart Digital, a unit of stock exchange operator Boerse Stuttgart, said it was granted a crypto asset service provider (CASP) license by the German regulator BaFin allowing it to provide services across the European Union under the bloc's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations.The company operates a brokerage and an exchange and intends to use the license to broaden its offerings for financial institutions across Europe, Matthias Voelkel, CEO of Boerse Stuttgart Group said in an emailed statement. Companies have been vying for MiCA licenses, which give crypto asset service providers permission to operate across the 27-nation bloc. The requirement came into force on Dec. 30, before which CASPs had to acquire licenses in each nation separately.“The issuance of the MiCAR license, just a few weeks after the adoption of the required national legislation, also enhances Germany's overall competitiveness in the European crypto market,” Oliver Vins, Boerse Stuttgart Digital's chief finance and regulatory officer, said in the email. Germany passed the legislation needed to implement MiCA days before the year-end deadline despite political turmoil that resulted in an early election being called for Feb. 23. Boerse Stuttgart Digital joins MoonPay, BitStaete, ZBD and prime brokerage and clearing company Hidden Road, who received the license from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) in December. Read more: EU Countries Struggle to Implement MiCA as Deadline for Crypto Regulatory Revamp Looms.... Read more

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)The crypto world is buzzing as President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration nears. Bitcoin is holding above $100,000 and altcoins like SOL, ADA, LINK, XRP and LTC are shining as it's not just about a potential strategic bitcoin reserve anymore. Reports suggest Trump could announce crypto as a policy priority.Things are heating up for ether too. A blockchain address associated with Trump's World Liberty Finance (WLF) project snapped up nearly $10 million of ETH this week, according to Arkham Intelligence. And keep your eyes on layer-1 blockchain Near Protocol's NEAR. The token's supply dynamics look bullish, with the ratio of staked to unstaked NEAR rising, according to data source Flipside.Overall, the outlook for the crypto market is bullish, as Wednesday's U.S. CPI report has eased inflation concerns, allowing traders to focus on Trump's swearing-in. On-chain analysis from 21Shares shows there's still plenty of upside left for BTC.That said, consider the possibility of a price drop if a major announcement doesn't materialize on Trump's first day. "The macroeconomic backdrop remains supportive, with unemployment trending downward, inflation showing signs of easing, and the market riding a wave of enthusiasm tied to Trump’s inauguration," Valentin Fournier, an analyst at BRN, said. "We maintain a bullish outlook for Q1, though a correction could happen this week if the new administration doesn't outline a solid action plan." Note that BTC is trading at a discount on Coinbase relative to Binance in a sign of weak demand from U.S. investors. Plus, Arkham Intelligence data shows a whale moved BTC worth over $1 billion to Coinbase on Thursday. Transfers to exchanges typically represent an investor intention to sell. And watch out for inflation worries creeping back. The U.S. PPI, which shows price pressures building up in the pipeline, rose above the CPI in December for the first time since 2022. Stay alert!What to WatchCryptoJan. 17: Oral arguments at the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in KalshiEX LLC v. CFTC, where the CFTC is appealing the district court's ruling favoring Kalshi's Congressional Control Contracts.Jan. 23: First deadline for a decision by the SEC on NYSE Arca's Dec. 3 proposal to list and trade shares of Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL), a closed-end trust, as an ETF.Jan. 25: First deadline for SEC decisions on proposals for four new spot solana ETFs: Bitwise Solana ETF, Canary Solana ETF, 21Shares Core Solana ETF and VanEck Solana Trust, which are all sponsored by Cboe BZX Exchange.Feb. 4: MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR) reports Q4 earnings before the market opens.MacroJan. 17, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Census Bureau releases December's Monthly New Residential Construction report. Building Permits (Preliminary) Est. 1.46M vs. Prev. 1.493M.Building Permits MoM (Preliminary) Prev. 5.2%.Housing Starts Est. 1.32M vs. Prev. 1.289M.Housing Starts MoM Prev. -1.8%.Token EventsGovernance votes & callsApeChain is voting on a revamped governance process for 75% of the on-chain treasury to be directed to DAO treasury contract and the remaining 25% to the Ape Foundation for administrative and support purposes. Voting began Jan. 17 and will last for 13 days.The Aave DAO is discussing a joint incentive program with Polygon that would require $3 million to enhance liquidity and adoption of Aave on the Polygon blockchain.UnlocksJan. 17: ApeCoin (APE) to unlock 2.16% of its circulating supply, worth $18.1 millionJan. 17: QuantixAI (QAI) to unlock 4.79% of its circulating supply, worth $21.28 millionJan. 18: Ondo (ONDO) to unlock 134% of its circulating supply, worth $2.19 billion.Jan. 21: Fasttoken (FTN) to unlock 4.6% of circulating supply worth $76 million.Token LaunchesJan. 17: Solv Protocol (SOLV) to be listed on Binance.Conferences:Day 12 of 14: Starknet, an Ethereum layer 2, is holding its Winter Hackathon (online).Day 5 of 12: Swiss WEB3FEST Winter Edition 2025 (Zug, Zurich, St. Moritz, Davos)Jan. 18: BitcoinDay (Naples, Florida)Jan. 20-24: World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (Davos-Klosters, Switzerland)Jan. 21: Frankfurt Tokenization Conference 2025Jan. 25-26: Catstanbul 2025 (Istanbul). The first community conference for Jupiter, a decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator built on Solana.Jan 30-31: Plan B Forum (San Salvador, El Salvador)Feb. 3: Digital Assets Forum (London)Feb. 18-20: Consensus Hong KongToken TalkBy Oliver KnightLitecoin (LTC) led the pack over the past 24 hours after a Nasdaq 19B-4 filing paved the way to roll out an LTC exchange traded-fund (ETF). The token rose 17% to overtake bitcoin cash (BCH) in terms of market cap.Ethereum developers confirmed that the mainnet Pectra upgrade will take place in March, with a series of hard forks planned on Ethereum testnets in February. The upgrade will improve wallet functionality and increase the native staking limit to 2,048 ETH from 32 ETH. This increase means larger stakers like Coinbase and restaking protocols will be able to control fewer validators, reducing complexity. Coinbase currently has tens of thousands of validators.Altcoin whales are aggressively buying solana (SOL) in the lead-up to Donald Trump's inauguration. One particular wallet, reported by Lookonchain, bought $2.49 million worth of SOL and withdrew an additional $3.94 million worth out of Binance. It then deposited a total of 144,817 SOL ($30.4 million) into lending platform Kamino before borrowing $20 million of stablecoins. This is effectively taking a long position on SOL as when the value of the underlying asset rises, the user will have to pay less stablecoin.Derivatives PositioningLitecoin is the best-performing coin in terms of futures open interest growth and positive CVD readings that imply net buying pressure.HYPE stands out as overheated, with annualized funding rates in excess of 100%, according to Velo Data. The elevated funding rate indicates overcrowding in bullish bets. BTC's annualized one-month futures basis on the CME has climbed above 12%, surpassing ETH's 11%. BTC, ETH CME futures open interest, however, remains little changed and well below December highs. BTC, ETH options on Deribit show bias for calls. Market Movements:BTC is down 2.17% from 4 p.m. ET Thursday at $102,319.71 (24hrs: +3.15%)ETH is up 3.13% at $3,424.04 (24hrs: +3.22%)CoinDesk 20 is up 1.36% at 3,960.57 (24hrs: +4.36%)Ether staking yield is unchanged at 3.1%BTC funding rate is at 0.0092% (10.12% annualized) on BinanceDXY is unchanged at 109.02Gold is up 0.67% at $2,730.60/ozSilver is down 1.3% at $31.28/ozNikkei 225 closed -0.31% to 38,451.46Hang Seng closed +0.31% to 19584.06,FTSE is up 1.06% at 8,481.19Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.66% at 5,140.87DJIA closed on Thursday -0.16% to 43,153.13S&P 500 closed -0.21% to 5,937.34Nasdaq closed -0.89% to 19,338.29S&P/TSX Composite Index closed +0.23% to 24846.2S&P 40 Latin America closed -1.41% to 2,230.95U.S. 10-year Treasury is down 2 bp at 4.6%E-mini S&P 500 futures are unchanged at 5,993.50E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are down 0.32% at 21,332.25E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index futures are unchanged at 43,496.00Bitcoin Stats:BTC Dominance: 57.49Ethereum to bitcoin ratio: 0.0334Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 784 EH/sHashprice (spot): $57.0Total Fees: 7.34 BTC/ $731,223CME Futures Open Interest: 178,755 BTCBTC priced in gold: 37.8 ozBTC vs gold market cap: 10.75%Technical AnalysisThe dollar index's (DXY) rally has stalled, but the bullish trendline characterizing the uptrend from 100 is still intact. A renewed bounce from the trendline support could create a headwind to risk assets. Crypto EquitiesMicroStrategy (MSTR): closed on Thursday at $367 (+1.77%), up 3.26% at $378.98 in pre-market.Coinbase Global (COIN): closed at $281.63 (+2.44%), up 2.68% at $289.28 in pre-market.Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY): closed at C$28.77(+3.01%).MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $18.3 (+0.83%), up 3.17% at $18.88 in pre-market.Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $13.29 (-1.29%), up 3.24% at $13.72 in pre-market.Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $14.63 (+0.69%), up 1.71% at $14.88 in pre-market.CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $11.18 (-0.18%), up 3.58% at $11.58 in pre-market.CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $24.60 (+0.12%), up 2.93% at $25.32 in pre-market.Semler Scientific (SMLR): closed at $58.24 (+3.8%), up 2.76% at $59.85 in pre-market.Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $37.87 (+7.1%), up 5.62% at $40 in pre-market.ETF FlowsSpot BTC ETFs:Daily net flow: $527.9 millionCumulative net flows: $38.04 billionTotal BTC holdings ~ 1.14 million.Spot ETH ETFsDaily net flow: $166.59 millionCumulative net flows: $2.64 billionTotal ETH holdings ~ 3.57 million.Source: Farside InvestorsOvernight FlowsChart of the DayThe chart shows trends in NEAR's circulating supply staked or locked in the blockchain in return for rewards, versus supply unstaked. The rate at which NEAR holders are staking their coins is increasing, creating a bullish demand-supply dynamic for the token. While You Were SleepingBitcoin's 'Coinbase Premium' Muted Amid Reports Trump Plans to Designate Crypto a National Policy (CoinDesk): President-elect Trump is reportedly planning to prioritize cryptocurrency with an executive order, but the BTC price differential between Coinbase and Binance signals a lack of enthusiasm among U.S. investors ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration.XRP Volume Overtakes Bitcoin on Coinbase as U.S. Investor Interest Grows (CoinDesk): XRP accounted for 25% of Coinbase’s trading volume in the past 24 hours, driven by rising U.S. interest and speculation about an XRP ETF.Bitcoin Miners Have Started 2025 on a Strong Footing, JPMorgan Says (CoinDesk): JPMorgan notes that 12 of 14 monitored mining stocks delivered stronger returns than bitcoin early this year, supported by a 51% annual hashrate surge.BOJ Likely to Keep Hawkish Policy Pledge, Raise Rates Next Week, Sources Say (Reuters): Markets predict an 80% likelihood the Bank of Japan will raise the... Read more

Publicly traded U.S. crypto mining companies doubled their bitcoin (BTC) holdings last year, taking the total to 92,473 valued at $8.6 billion as of end-December while the price of the largest cryptocurrency rose 120%, according to data from TheMiningMag.The biggest amount, almost half of the total, is held by MARA Holdings (MARA) with 44,893 BTC. MARA has the second-largest stash among publicly listed companies, surpassed only by MicroStrategy's (MSTR) 450,000 BTC.The strategy of investing in bitcoin and keeping it for the long term, known as HODL after a typing error made more than a decade ago, has grown in popularity in the past 12 months.Three other miners hold more than 10,000 BTC: Riot Platforms (RIOT) with 17,722 BTC, Hut 8 (HUT) with 10,171 BTC and CleanSpark (CLSK) with 10,097 BTC, according to Bitcoin Treasuries.Not all miners subscribe to the HODL playbook. IREN (IREN), TeraWulf (WULF), and Core Scientific (CORZ) all keep very little bitcoin or none at all. Due to the competitive nature of the business, these companies have pivoted into the artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) industries.Share prices haven't matched bitcoin's trajectory. In general, the miners underperformed bitcoin and other crypto-related equities, such as MicroStrategy. Standout performers Core Scientific and Terawulf, with their new AI focus, both saw over 300% returns. This year, though, the miners that HODL bitcoin have strongly benefited, with RIOT, HUT and CLSK all outperforming bitcoin. Only Bitdeer (BTDR) has generated negative returns, after seeing a strong performance in 2024. ... Read more

Bitcoin (BTC) mining stocks tracked by JPMorgan have enjoyed a strong start to the year, with 12 of the 14 companies outperforming the world's largest cryptocurrency in the first two weeks, the Wall Street bank said in a research report Thursday.The network hashrate has risen 2% month-to-date to an average of 793 exahashes per second (EH/s) and is 51% higher than a year ago, the report said.The hashrate refers to the total combined computational power used to mine and process transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain and is a proxy for competition in the industry and mining difficulty.The hashprice, a measure of daily mining profitability, has dropped less than 1% since the end of December, the bank noted, as "hashrate growth outpaced BTC price movement.""Miners earned ~$54,900 in daily block reward revenue per EH/s over the first two weeks of January," analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce wrote, which was 2% less than last month.The combined hashrate of the 14 U.S.-listed miners in the bank's coverage has more than doubled in the last 12 months and now accounts for roughly 30% of the global network.The total market cap of the mining stocks that the bank tracks has increased 16%, or $4.5 billion, in the first two weeks of the year. Riot Platforms (RIOT) outperformed, with a 32% gain, and Bitdeer underperformed, with a 4% decline.Bitcoin has increased about 56% since the halving event in April, around 44% since the U.S. presidential election in November, and is up 134% year-on-year, the report said.Read more: U.S.-Listed Bitcoin Miners Accounted for 25% of Global Network in December: Jefferies... Read more

XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market value, has replaced bitcoin (BTC) as the most-traded digital asset on Coinbase (COIN), the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange that's seen as a proxy for U.S. demand.Bitcoin retained its position as most-traded crypto asset on Binance, the largest exchange by volume, which is off-limits to U.S. investors.Volume trends are consistent with the recovery in the U.S. demand for XRP, which is closely linked to blockchain-based payment network Ripple, as presaged by the Coinbase premium indicator a week ago.Interest in XRP, the biggest gainer following Donald Trump's election victory in November, increased after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse met the president-elect almost two weeks ago. It's also been supported by speculation of a spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) being approved in the U.S.At press time, the XRP/USD pair accounted for 25% of Coinbase's 24-hour trading volume of $6.86 billion. The BTC/USD pair ranked second, contributing 20% with ETH/USD in third place, according to data source Coingecko. On Binance, XRP was the second-most traded coin.Since November, the payments-focused cryptocurrency's price has risen over 600% to $3.33, the highest since 2017. The valuation has increased by a third this week alone, according to CoinDesk and TradingView data.The rally is backed by a record futures open interest and a spike in the number of large holders. Data tracked by TradingView and CoinMetrics show the number of unique addresses holding at least $100,000 worth of cryptocurrency has increased to 108,540.... Read more